Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Disruptive faciality

I haven't forgotten about the blog or my readers, but as most Melbournians would know we've had several bouts of very hot weather and I've hardly been motivated to do much more than take an early morning walk (before the heat set in), see an occasional film at the cinema and meet up with some friends. I have however in the past week or so begun a new project that focusses primarily on self-portraits that I've been making using my Windows phone. They are self-portraits with a twist as I am distorting my facial image by moving my head or moving the mobile phone as it takes my photo. The project engages with genetics, evolution, self-identity within a technological landscape, the 'selfie' and expectations and behavior surrounding it. Indeed, I intended to subvert the selfie by selecting the most distorted, most unusual portraits, which I've been posting on Facebook instead of selecting the most desirable image of my face (whatever that is). As I've been doing this project I have begun to appreciate the face as landscape, its hills and furrows, valleys and crevices. It exposes faciality as a surface on which we project our own fears and desires. I've done about 50 images. Here is an example. Please note that none of the images have been manipulated in anyway in Photoshop or any other computer program.